Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/107618
Mack's Granite is tough, well-designed and intelligently conceived: a blend of power, performance and elegance. INBRIEF • Navistar posted a net loss of $2.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 attributable mostly to a noncash tax expense of $2 billion from an increase in deferred tax valuation allowance on the company's U.S. deferred tax assets. • Heil Environmental announced an average 5 percent price increase on all refuse collection bodies and roll-off hoists, attributable to research and development costs over its entire product line as well as escalating employee healthcare costs and overall economic inflation. • Jost International is supplying fifth wheel coupling devices for Mack Trucks' Pinnacle, Titan and Granite models. • Polar Corp.'s Quality Trailer Products and Century Wheel & Rim brands now operate under the name Rockwell American (www.rockwell american.com), culminating a yearlong initiative to unify the company's Quality, Century and Rockwell brands under a single identity. • Hankook Tire announced its new South Korea high-tech research and development center will be located at Daedeok Innopolis, the country's premier research complex in Daejeon. Construction of the facility is projected to be completed by the end of 2015. • Chevron Products Co. expanded the "Expert Knowledge" portion of its ChevronDelo.com website to offer both video and written material that addresses key market issues of interest to both its on- and off-highway customers. • Fans of Western Star trucks can join a website, StarNation.com, devoted to the brand. Featuring news, forums, galleries and more, the site provides an interactive platform for Western Star truck owners, operators and enthusiasts. • Rotary Lift's Adapter Selection Guide helps fleets see if their lifts are equipped to pick up and service their trucks. The free guide provides dimensions, diagrams and details for adapters compatible with Rotary Lift's inground lifts. 24 CCJ TEST DRIVE: Refined workhorse By JACK ROBERTS Mack's Granite blends power, performance and elegance D riving a new fully-loaded Mack Granite dump truck near Allentown, Pa., I was reminded that there's something special about the rolling Pennsylvania backroads. I was following State Road 309, running south from West Hazelton toward Tamaqua. It's something like 350 years old – a pleasant reminder of how much transportation has changed. The old farmhouses are so close to the road that in many cases you could stand on the porch and spit on the traffic. Often, the house sits on one side of the road and the family barn on the other. It's something you see only in the eastern United States. Mack has deep roots in this area. The Mack brothers hammered out their first bus 112 years ago and 80 miles away in New York City. The brothers relocated to Allentown – not far from the big-city action but with the benefit of being close to Bethlehem Steel Works. My Granite test drive began 2013 Mack Granite specs as tested at the company's ENGINE: Mack MP8, 425 hp, 1,570 lb.-ft. torque TRANSMISSION: Allison 4500 RDS 6-speed Customer Center GROSS COMBINATION WEIGHT: 80,000 lb. maximum – a combination WHEELBASE: 226 in. museum, product ENGINE BRAKE: Mack Powerleash and technology FRONT AXLE: Mack FXL18, 18,000 lb. showcase and test FRONT AXLE TIRES: Bridgestone M844F 425/65R22.5 L facility. Curtiss FRONT AXLE BRAKES: Meritor S Cam 16.5-by-6 in. Dorwart, Mack's FRONT SUSPENSION: 18,000 lb. taperleaf vocational products TANDEM REAR AXLE: Mack S440, 44,000 lb. marketing manREAR AXLE TIRES: Bridgestone M726EL (drive only) 11R22.5 G ager, explained how REAR AXLE BRAKES: Meritor Cam 16.5-by-7 in. Q Plus Mack's expertise TANDEM REAR SUSPENSION: Mack SS440 multileaf can be found every- REAR AXLE CARRIER RATIO: 4.50 POWER DIVIDER LOCKOUT: In-cab manual air valve where on a Granite. COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2013 0213_Equipdept_Jack.indd 24 1/23/13 8:33 AM